Features

The Fitzgerald at UB Midtown Preps for Its Big Debut

The clock is ticking. The Fitzgerald at UB Midtown—the University of Baltimore's latest contribution to the ongoing rejuvenation of central Baltimore—is coming to life. On rainy days or sunny, scores of construction workers can be seen on the Oliver Street and Mt. Royal Avenue site of this major new development, buttoning up the external work even as more building begins inside. The project, which will debut in phases beginning next January, portends big improvements for life at UB—and it's going to be much more than just a great place to park your car.

But first things first, and that means a quick overview of the eight-story parking garage that has risen in the core of the UB-owned 4.23-acre parcel now dominated by the Fitzgerald development:

• The garage is scheduled to open at the start of the spring 2010 semester. (Of course, this is barring a bout of bad weather or other problems that might delay the mid-January opening.)
• The UB community will have access to hundreds of parking spaces in this gated facility; the garage gives the University a net gain of 400 spaces over its current number of more than 1,200 combined spaces from the Maryland Avenue Garage, the Symphony Center Garage, and other sites near campus.
• The Fitzgerald garage will permanently replace all of those parking facilities save for the Maryland Avenue Garage, the Cathedral Street Lot and, for the next few months, the Charles Street Lot; it will establish a significant level of foot and vehicular traffic moving in and out of the garage via its Oliver Street entrance/exit lanes.
• UB's Department of Public Safety will patrol the garage just as it does with other campus facilities, the UB Shuttle Service will have a convenient stop at the site, and RSS technology will allow garage patrons to get real-time information on the number of spaces available in the garage. For many at UB, the most significant change in January will be the new way they enter campus.

To get the latest news on parking at the Fitzgerald, go here.

For the folks in UB's Division of Administration and Finance, as well as the staff at The Bozzuto Group—the project's developer and general contractor and UB's partner in the arrangement that leases UB's parcel—The Fitzgerald at UB Midtown is much more than the garage. It's a sophisticated mix of retail, housing, public spaces and amenities that will help make central Baltimore a destination, similar to the effect of the Charles Commons development on the campus of The Johns Hopkins University at Homewood.

"Our vision is that the Fitzgerald community serves as the residential and commercial cornerstone for the already vibrant Mount Vernon neighborhood," said Toby Bozzuto, president of the Bozzuto Development Company. "The mixed-use nature of the development, combined with its beautiful, open spaces, will encourage community and add even more life and energy to the streets of midtown Baltimore. We think the Fitzgerald will be both a destination and meeting spot for residents and visitors alike."

Even as final details of the Fitzgerald garage are being completed, other major phases of the development are moving forward, most notably the Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Superstore that will serve as the retail anchor for the project and a gateway for the entire complex. The store, which will feature 20,000 square feet of retail space on two levels, a café and designated areas for UB textbooks and University-branded merchandise, is due to open next fall. Two other small-scale retail spaces will complete that portion of the project; announcements about what those stores will be are expected in the coming months.

Robert Streib, director of UB's Office of Auxiliary Enterprises, said that the new bookstore will meet the needs of the growing campus in ways that the current operation in the Student Center could not.

"This is how we're responding to the fact that UB is attracting many more students," Streib said. "We will be well positioned to accommodate a larger institution, and able to offer a full range of services to the entire community."

While plans are taking shape to repurpose the 5,000 square feet occupied by the Student Center bookstore, designers, merchandisers and other teams from Barnes & Noble are working with UB to craft the elements that will make the new Oliver Street location unique to the University: signage, lighting schemes, even a mural that will feature the campus.

"We're really excited about it," Streib said. "It's going to address a lot of student and faculty needs, and it will be a real benefit to life in all of central Baltimore."

Barnes & Noble at the University of Baltimore is the first B&N College Booksellers Superstore of its kind in the University System of Maryland.

Then there's the residential portion of The Fitzgerald, which will begin leasing in the spring—275 luxury apartments with a variety of floor plans, three private lounges and other amenities, and views of the city that you'll find nowhere else. The community, which is expected to achieve LEED certification, encompasses a host of "green" elements, including recycling centers, enclosed bicycle storage, preferred parking for hybrid vehicles, low flow water fixtures, Energy Star appliances and low volatile organic compound paints and carpets.

For more on the project, visit Bozzuto's Web site.

The Fitzgerald is also a prime example of "urban density," the concept of bringing life to city neighborhoods by building homes close together and within easy reach of shopping, public transportation and other essentials. It is expected that many future residents of the Fitzgerald will be commuters who use light rail and Penn Station to travel to jobs across the city, or in Washington, Annapolis, Bethesda and elsewhere. Because of the project's convenient location and top-flight design, it will be especially attractive to those who might otherwise rent or buy a home in the suburbs.

And that, perhaps, is the Fitzgerald at UB Midtown's greatest contribution to the renewal of central Baltimore: new life, more energy on local streets and in neighborhood stores, after a long period of relatively low-key activity. There's no way to prove that synergies are happening, but it's of note that a large-scale development featuring a Lowe's and other major retailers was announced for nearby Charles Village and Remington just last week—hot on the heels of new shopping options in another neighborhood close to campus, Druid Hill. Whether it's purposeful or not, developers and retailers are taking note of the great potential of central Baltimore, and success is leading to more success.

As UB President Robert Bogomolny noted when the Barnes & Noble Superstore was announced last February, "Our partnership has scored a big win for Baltimore."